Hotaru's Disastrous Day
by windlady
Summary: Completed. Our favorite Ice Queen isn't always as lucky as we thought. Occasionally, she would experience some inevitable infuriating situations like anyone of us... RukaxHotaru. For anyone who had a 'lucky day' before! Enjoy!


**Hotaru's Disastrous Day**

**windlady**

**WARNING: Title speaks for itself. Characters may be a little OOC.**

**W:** This story is for my friend who loves the RukaxHotaru pairing. I hope you like it. I worked my hardest to remove and avoid most of the OOCness. Suggest anything you want and I will try my best to blend them with my ideas. Thank you! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Me owning? Never happened. Not happening. Will never happen. Gakuen Alice is by the revered Higuchi Tachibana.

**Hotaru's Disastrous Day**

**By windlady**

"_Being strong doesn't mean that you don't need to be protected at all."_

_~windlady_

Each one of us must have experienced a certain time when everything just won't work the way we wanted them to. And it would really piss us off as we think of how others could be so lucky to easily have those things done.

Now then, even a certain cool and composed person could get irritated when she's having such a disastrous day, right?

Our favorite Ice Queen isn't always as lucky as we thought. Occasionally, she would experience some inevitable infuriating situations like us.

Click. Clatter. Clatter.

The screw driver was rashly tossed somewhere across the room and a spring bounced elsewhere. There was also a soft sigh, some footsteps, and resume the clattering did.

It was already dawning but a certain stoic inventor was still wide awake. She sat on her revolving chair with her back hunched and her face almost touching the smooth surface of her latest work. Her raven hair has been deprived of the wonders the _Invention 116: Ultimate-Fashion Hair Brush_ can do and a cup of coffee cold from 4 hours of long wait has been sitting near a pile of her favorite reads. Her best friend brought her that bitter-tasting coffee. She heard her say something like: "What? You're still working on that? Please, sleep for a while. You'll die if you don't! NO! PLEASE DON'T DIE, HOTA- BAKA! BAKA!"

So that's why she thought that her Baka gun was 2 bullets less. Carefully, she spared her door knob a skeptic glance.

There's no way she would be allowing her best friend to barge in her room again. It's not that she hated her. She liked her best friend a lot— even when she's too much of an idiot for her own good. Well, she wouldn't have tried sipping a home-made beverage, in the very least, if it weren't Mikan Sakura's other than Anna's. She would never admit that though. She preferred showing her affections the Imai-way. Besides, Mikan was too simple-minded to understand all these. Explanations wouldn't work. Mikan possessed immunity against extensive explanations but she could always find her own way to interpret tough affections. It's best to just leave things the way they were. No, Hotaru wasn't trying to act cool or be harsh to the nullifying alice bearer girl. It's just that, she needed to finish this invention as soon as possible.

The raven-haired girl winced quietly when she felt her thighs throb. She has been negligent with her posture and that's a major no-no for an inventor. Why? It's because a wrong posture would mean troubles in the physical body which would then lead to lesser amount of tolerance and stamina for work. A pair of well-sculpted eyebrows twitched. Her sweaty shirt made her feel more irritable even to the slightest sound any organism would make. 10 seconds ago, she fired her Baka gun on some random fool strolling from outside her window. She heard a very familiar male pitch whimper but she just couldn't care less. She never really liked being disturbed. She shut her eye lids close and felt warmth radiating from her skin. Eye bags. She could use some ointment from Nonoko later. You couldn't underestimate the sacrifices an inventor had to take. However, she was definitely used to these things. She's still _Hotaru_after all. These kinds of things couldn't hinder her progress. No. Not even one bit. She's been through worse. So bring out the most 'disastrous' things and see if they could shake her a bit. What terrible thing could ever happen to her when she's already too perfect?

She rubbed her amethyst eyes for the 32nd time. This was probably to keep her senses awake and wipe her blurry vision away. She's been working with her invention for 5 days now. And to top that, she only had a total of 10hrs of sleep out of the 120hrs that had passed!

'_Darn it.'_ In her mind, Hotaru cursed the dying battery she held in her palm. Just when she thought she could finally test her new invention. But it simply, needed to fail her right before she could test it, didn't it? She had no choice but to take another nap and later, when she wakes, she would be heading to Central Town for some batteries. That'd be first thing in the morning. Carefully, she stored her stuff in one corner of her room before turning the lights off. She unceremoniously threw her body on her bed and tapped her alarm clock on as she allowed her consciousness to fall into a deep slumber. The alarm should wake her up by 5am. She planned to wake up early so she could get to Central Town sooner and have her invention done.

Well, that _'WAS'_ her plan.

It's currently 11:45am and under the scorching heat from the sun the Ice Queen is dragging her feet into an item shop. Yes, dear readers, she is not yet done with her only goal in Central Town after the following series of _'helpful'_ events:

1. Her alarm clock's batteries also died while she was sleeping. Meaning, it didn't wake her up!

2. When she woke up at 9am, she realized the time and quickly stood up from her bed only to fall back again when she stepped on some slippery part of her invention.

3. She concluded that the hammock was a work of the furry little bunny of Nogi since it was the only creature which enjoyed devastating her room. After warily fixing her work in one corner, she went inside her bathroom for a shower. But soon enough, she found out that the water warming system of the dorm was not working when ice cold water touched her bare skin!

4. Few minutes later, Hotaru arrived at the bus station and waited for the ride to come. She still got luck on her side since the bus was scheduled to arrive at the exact time she came. Or not? Yes, the bus did pull in on time but as soon as she boarded it and it moved several blocks from the station, the tires went flat! And she just had to wait for the reinforcement bus to get there.

5. She arrived at the Central Town after so much trouble. Quickly, she brisk walked towards an item shop. At last, she could get her batteries. Suddenly, Piyo, the giant chick, blocked her way! It was berserk! It went dancing, crying for Ruka to show up, jumping from one of its legs to the other while flapping its wings as if trying to fly and it was chirping so loud that Hotaru thought her ear drums would break. Numerous alices came to move Piyo away from the Shopping District before it harmed anyone but the chick wouldn't stop its crazy dance thus their efforts were in vain. Some seconds later, the Central Town's Management had to declare _"Danger"_ because of it. The academy's security system dragged everyone, including her, into a certain alice-protected area and our poor inventor helplessly stared at the menacing mutated chick, blaming Ruka for not being around to calm it!

Now, after getting into a lot of misfortune, Hotaru came out of the last item shop in Central Town without any battery!

It seemed like the next delivery of those batteries would be arriving the day after tomorrow and every shop already ran out of stock. Still our stoic inventor continued walking to anywhere her feet would take her. There was no point in caring for anything else today. Hotaru is a patient inventor but not the most patient of the alices. Having been struck with too many misfortunes in such a short time was just too much to bear. Seeing that even Piyo managed to ruin her plans— that's the last strand of patience in her fatigued body.

Just once, she wanted to escape for a while. Her disappointment was overpowering the rational part of her brain and if she ever has to encounter another bad luck she couldn't be sure of how her reaction would be. She looked okay from the outside although she definitely displayed exhaustion. Rugged and tired as she was, she barely thought of what she was doing. She was just too drained, too pissed off and too worn out from all the things she experienced.

Ice Queen has had enough! She felt an urge to fire her Baka gun on something. Oh! She felt like crumpling someone's face into an unidentifiable stuff. Morbid thoughts and rabbits paraded in her brain till they were all in a fuzzy mesh resembling a whirlpool. It was to release even just a tiny portion of this frustration inside her. It was just too much! Her mind was screaming but her face showed her default blank expression. The deadpan face which has never failed her remained as her mask.

She entered a forest path without realizing it and without realizing it, as well, her speed in walking increased. She was brisk walking again— No! She was running! Then, she tripped over something. She would have landed flat on the ground if she hadn't supported herself with her arms.

Her vision went blurred. Was she teary-eyed?

She loathed the idea. She wasn't teary-eyed. That would be stupid. Because Hotaru could never cry. She would never allow anything to deviate from her usual empty face even in her frustrating state. Her false façade was 100% perfect and she wasn't going to taint the record no matter what. It was the unwritten Imai rule and thus, was an imperative thing to follow. However, if someone should see her like this, she would definitely lose her cool!

She couldn't let that happen… She shouldn't… She wouldn't…

She's Imai Hotaru… She has always been strong as she fought her battles…

Even when she was alone…

And she has always been fine just on her own. She needed no protection of any sort. She was already too capable by herself. She was strong and independent. So independent was she that she forgot how it was to be taken care of. She almost lost the idea that she wasn't alone in her battles. There was still Mikan. And that girl made sure that she was well-reminded of that. She would be fine. She had been faithful to that belief for so long but now, she was realizing something else. She was too perfect and that made her flawed. She was feeling something different. It felt extremely awkward and it sucked all the confidence she mustered up in all these years which she spent living as how a genius ought to. But how could it be like this? Why did it need to start claiming her? Why here at present? How inconvenient for her ambitions. She didn't need these feelings now. Not when true perfection was only an inch away from her grasp.

"I-Imai?" a sleepy male voice asked.

!

She stiffened at the sound. That voice was just too familiar in her ears. Hotaru's heart beat raced. There was no mistaking it. But by gods, please make her theories wrong for once. It couldn't be— NOGI RUKA?

Hotaru whipped her head to face the dreaded subject. She tripped over Ruka? Who was actually sleeping in this forest? Under this tree? Hotaru _**almost**_ gasped. She just couldn't believe how bad her luck was today. She was in an entirely reverse situation than how it usually was. She was the one who usually sees Ruka in a very _'blackmailable'_ situation but now…

"I-Imai?"

A pair of cobalt eyes widened in an unpleasant surprise as one of the lad's hands caressed his forehead as if he had headache. Almost on impulse, the blonde surveyed the area for hidden cameras and blackmail kits of his horrid blackmailing classmate. As soon as he felt assured that the living thing beside him hasn't done anything yet to his pitiful pride, he gave her a look. That one which was filled with suspicion. It was coated with loathing and oozing with doubt. Why was this heartless inventor here? What move would she perform to expel another batch of torture in his life? He didn't really want to see her in his peaceful hours especially after getting hit on his forehead by her infamous gun last night.

He took a sharp breath. "What do you want?" He managed to word a question in a dead tone which made him a bit happy. He sounded composed just like his best friend. Not that he wished to be like him. It was just that it seemed nice to be in control of the situation and to manage handling his speech sometimes especially because Imai was the other person in the situation he was currently dominating. He wouldn't allow Imai to catch him off guard ever again. The injury he has sustained was already too much.

His expression showed a tinge of annoyance when he received no response from the girl who was imprudently slumped on the ground. An unusual sight, he noticed. He tried again. "What are you doing here, Im-WAIT!" Ruka was asking yet another question when he noticed something about the raven-haired girl.

She was surprising him a lot today. Seeing her in a place surrounded by nature, not with her advanced machines and with a look which he didn't know her face was capable of displaying? Utterly bizarre. "A-Are you _c-crying_?" He asked, stammering a bit as he spoke because even he wouldn't believe in the expression which he might have seen on her face a split second ago. Secretly, he felt defeated again as this powerful girl managed to make him stutter in his own words effortlessly. His keen eyes caught sight of the moisture forming in the younger Imai's purple orbs. She couldn't have cried, could she?

The callous expression in his eyes softened. No, he didn't mean to hurt her in anyway. Because no matter how much damage she did to his male ego, he could still see a girl in her. Stupid as how it must have sounded in anyone's opinion but, for him, she became something else other than a friend. Their daily encounters were like habitual occurrences required to complete his day and she, even in her worst evil deeds, became someone who was a natural part of his daily life.

"I'm sorry…"

Ruka didn't actually know why he voiced that one out or what he was apologizing for. If there was anyone who should be saying that, it should've been her, right? Still it felt right to let those words slide easily from his lips. For as long as she remains silent, he would feel confident in this attempt to comfort her. Ruka didn't think that his words comprehend or connect in any possible way to the situation. It was as deranged as the rapid heartbeats he was feeling in his chest. He felt so eager to say many things but maybe they could wait till he gathers up something inside of him. How he hoped that these messages would transcend through whatever barriers there were at present. He'd leave the job to the reliable Imai intelligence. Never has she failed him before so he could confidently place his bet on her abilities.

When the girl didn't give any reply, he took the initiative. "Uh-uhm… I-Imai, are you okay?" Ruka, though with much hesitation in his tone, asked worriedly as he knelt beside Hotaru who was still sitting recklessly on the ground. He didn't really know what to say. He's Ruka. He was never that good in dealing with girls and emotions especially when it's about this blackmailer. She was too weird for Ruka's comprehension. Hotaru's amethyst eyes met Ruka's crystal blue eyes. Ruka saw the raw pain and hurt in hers while Hotaru saw the calmness and comfort in his. Hotaru closed her eyes and turned her face away. She wanted to avoid his gaze.

_To save the remaining piece of her pride?_

Unable to decide on how he could lighten up the situation, Ruka decided to act depending purely on his instincts. Without much hesitation he grabbed Hotaru's arms, engulfing her in his warm embrace while the girl's eyes widened just the slightest in his unexpected action. "I-I'm just here..." Ruka said with overflowing sincerity and care in his trembling voice. Yes, he was very aware that the vulnerable girl he was wrapping within his arms was also the strong Imai, Hotaru. But being strong doesn't mean that you don't need to be protected at all.

And my, it did surprise him yet again to have felt this way after feeling Hotaru encaged within his arms. She fitted in so perfectly and this strange sensation in him felt new. It was not like that one which he felt when he hugged Sakura, Mikan. It felt guiltless. It felt soothing. It was giving him feelings which say it was supposed to be like this. He didn't want to admit it but for a long time since Natsume and Mikan got together, he has never felt so comforted and relaxed till now. To think that he found the satisfaction in this cold-blooded classmate of his? Yes and surely, he kept on paying her more attention nowadays. Maybe there was something else to be said for Koko's words of wisdom. Maybe, all this time, he really has been missing something?

Hotaru's body stiffened like stone. Her mind, seemingly, froze due to this surprising event. She wasn't used to having anyone see her weak side moreover to have someone to depend on! Questions poured into her brain. Most of them were doubts in her logic and strength as a person. Why was Nogi hugging her? What was he thinking? She wasn't one of his fan girls. Why was she feeling this way? Was she not as strong as how she needed to be? Her mind processed an installed-like command: _Calm down, cardiac muscles_. She hoped that he wouldn't notice her pounding heart beats and her slightly warmed cheeks. How disgusting that she reacted this way and how bothersome it was that he could distract her fixed rhythm. These feelings which were unsettling her deep within were strangers to her. She felt uneasy. She was strangely feeling weaker. And she was willing to blame all these on Nogi. Somehow her brain ordered her arms to push the blonde away but her body could only afford a small nudge.

Feeling her resistance, Ruka realized how awkward it was for him to hug her. Hugs were meant for families, best friends, and buddies. Their_'official'_ relationship was nowhere near any of those options. He hugged her for goodness' sake! Whatever was he thinking? He wasn't sure of why he did that too. Nevertheless when he saw the pain in her eyes, he just felt like he wanted to protect her. He wanted to take away the hurt in her eyes.

'_I'd probably get another shot from her Baka gun for this.'_ He thought but didn't make any effort to release the Ice Queen from his embrace. There was no reason for him to release her anyway. It was not that he didn't care if she notices his fluttering heart or the lump forming in his throat. It was just that he felt this need to comfort her. And so he was daring her, from the back of his mind, just let her utter a word of protest and he would leave her as she wish.

"Everything will be all right, Hotaru..." Ruka assured the startled inventor this time with a voice which was bearing more confidence. He noticed that he unconsciously addressed her by her first name but he didn't really mind that anymore. He may not be good in dealing with his emotions but he mastered the art of calming bothered souls. Gently, he brushed his hand through the girl's raven hair. The smell of her shampoo mixed with her scent filled his nose. For such a horrid blackmailer, it's surprising that she could exude such a sweet scent— what was this scent again? Sandal wood. He smelled that in most of her products especially in her blackmail kit. Ironically, he loved that smell. The smell stuck on her which was probably due to the inventions she was working on.

He held back a sudden urge to nuzzle his face on her hair. That would be wrong. Taking small and sure steps should be more to his liking. This was what he has learned from this girl. These confusions regarding the question of what Hotaru Imai was to him were perplexing but the answer slowly surfaces before his eyes. This gnawing truth and that _**quiet entreaty **_he almost though reluctantly admits were real and would be kept under the safety of his shy demeanor. They would have to wait. Only till the day that they were sure of these emotions should the next turning point be possible.

'_Hotaru? First name basis?'_ she wondered silently. It wasn't typical of Ruka to refer to her so informally. Her heartbeat matched her breathing as she discreetly uttered an aspiration. Her _**silent plea**_ was mixed with her Imai-schooled complexity in ideas. There might be hope left for that…

_Logic._

Maybe she would use her Baka gun later on this Ruka... After all, it's him who caused her a delay with her goal because of that mutated chick…

_Imai etiquette._

Or… Maybe she could blackmail him some more for some batteries since she brought her camera and recorder with her…

_Camouflage goes to wracks and ruins._

But… Maybe she could let him hug her for a while. She needed to cover her tears anyway. Maybe she wouldn't be fighting her own battles alone from now on. Somehow something within her wanted to believe in Ruka's words.

_Honesty entwined with trust._

And… Maybe she could actually let someone peek beneath her cold façade. Somehow letting him see her weak side and knowing that he'd be there and he'd care for her made her heart feel warm and relieved.

'_Maybe this is fine...'_ She thought to herself. _'Just maybe...'_

Hotaru slowly closed her eyes and savored the warmth of Ruka's embrace. And so the silence of their vague wishes disintegrated and was exposed in the depths of their minds.

'_Please… don't notice my feelings…'_

…CLICK!

"I-IMAAIII!"

'_Not.'_

*****END*****

**W:** Hmm… I made few revisions. Added a bit of proof reading because I'm really lazy, if you haven't noticed. But there! I'm hopeful that this passes your taste. How about a review to cheer me on working some more RukaxHotaru nerves in this body? *chuckles*

Thanks to my friend, Hilaire, for the awesome critique. I love your awesomeness, geek. :D

~windlady

(Revised: July 2012)


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